Louw’s savvy vital for the Boks

Replacing Notshe with veteran No 8 essential to coach’s strategy of experience first

FRANCOIS Louw has been there and done that and that is one of the main reasons Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has picked him at No 8 for tomorrow’s big clash against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld.

The selection of Louw, who has 61 Test caps, is a clear indication of the value the Bok coach has placed on experience as his team attempt try to inflict a second defeat in a row on Kieran Read’s Kiwis.

While Erasmus has been a champion for building depth and experience within the side after taking over the reins this year, he will be the first person to admit that facing the No 1 side in world rugby is no place for experimentation.

Without the wily experience and leadership qualities of the injured Warren Whiteley at the back of the scrum, Erasmus had to make a bold decision, which included sparing Sikhumbuzo Notshe the undue pressure of facing the wrath of the All Blacks from the beginning of the game.

But there is also a sense of sanity in Erasmus’s unconventional way of doing things as he has taken a chapter out of former Bok coach Allister Coetzee’s book when the Springboks last faced the All Blacks on home soil in that spicy one-point loss at Newlands last year.

Louw is no stranger to playing at No 8 nor to being part of the same loose trio alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi.

In the very same fixture last year, the trio faced up to the All Blacks and at times got the better of them in that abrasive encounter in Cape Town, and Erasmus will be looking at more of the same from them.

Also, Erasmus has gone with almost an identical pack with Lood de Jager and Ruan Dreyer being the only missing members of the personnel that had the All Blacks sweating for a greater part of that game.

By using the same pack, Erasmus will be expecting the same intensity, while the confidence and experience gained in their narrow win in Wellington would have been invaluable to the team’s state of mind going into their biggest Test of the international season.

It is with that experience in mind that Erasmus has also recalled centre Damian de Allende in the only change to his back line from last weekend’s victory against the Wallabies.

De Allende has faced the All Blacks and Sonny Bill Williams enough times in his career not to be fazed by the enormity of what stands in front of them and his growing partnership with Bulls man Jesse Kriel will also bring about a sense of comfort and steadiness to a back line that is proving to be a handful on its day. The Springboks may be revelling in their new-found confidence and belief after the memorable win in Wellington but in order to build on that and finish off the competition with a bang, they will need to muster all of the experience available to them to overcome a side that has been there and done it all.